N'Golo Kante is a qualified accountant as well as the engine room of Chelsea's midfield

The 26-year-old provided Chelsea magazine with an insight into his hobbies and interests away from the field of play.

And the Frenchman went on to explain why he could have become an accountant had his career taken a different path.

"When I was 18, I got my baccalaureate [the French A-Level equivalent] and after that I did two more years of study in accountancy," Kante confirms.

"At this time, I was at Boulogne, in the second team – the sixth, then the fifth division.

"I wasn’t professional, so I kept studying because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make a living as a footballer.

"But when I went up to the first team, I became professional, so I stopped studying.

"I got my qualification in accountancy so there are some things I can understand more easily because of it, but now I prefer to concentrate on football!"

Just over five years later Kante has been recognised by being nominated for the FIFA Ballon D'Or.

The two-time Premier League winner lives a low-key lifestyle according to people within the game.

Tomasz Bzymek, Kante’s former youth coach at FC Suresnes, told Sport.pl: "After training, Kante just goes back home and rests.

"No clubbing, no party lifestyle or sightseeing."

Kante is set to miss Chelsea's Premier League game with Crystal Palace due to hamstring injury he picked up on international duty against Bulgaria.